1. Field
Aspects of the embodiments relate to a host apparatus and a control method thereof, and an image reading apparatus controlled by the host apparatus, and more particularly, to a host apparatus which is capable of controlling a plurality of image reading apparatuses using a single driver and a control method thereof, and an image reading apparatus controlled by the host apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A scanner is a device that optically scans various types of documents such as printed text, images, photographs, and so on, and converts it to a digital image. A user should install a scanner driver in a host device being connected to the scanner in order to use the scanner.
A method for using a conventional scanner driver will be simply explained. A user drives an application program and selects a menu to select a scanner. The application program provides a list of scanners based on a scanner driver installed in a host apparatus. A user selects a desired scanner from a list of scanners, and thus a driver of the selected scanner is driven. The driven driver provides a user interface (UI), and a user selects an option to form an image through the UI and executes the selected scanner to operate.
A different type of scanner driver is provided for each manufacturer and each model. Accordingly, if a user desires to use a plurality of scanners, the user needs to install a plurality of scanner drivers for the plurality of scanners in a host apparatus. Also, if a plurality of host apparatuses are connected to the plurality of scanners through a network, the network manager needs to install a plurality of drivers for the scanners in all of the host apparatuses.
As described above, in order to use a plurality of scanners, a plurality of scanner drivers for each type of scanners should be installed in a host apparatus and thus it is disadvantageous in that high cost is required to install and manage the plurality of scanner drivers. In addition, as the plurality of scanner drivers are installed, a lot of time is required to load the corresponding drivers, and considerable storage space is required in a host. Moreover, a user needs to update all of the scanner drivers one by one, and may feel difficulties in selecting a desired scanner.